With Kristi Noem Out, Can a Hamstrung FEMA Rebuild - Even Under Trump?

"During the year she spent leading the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, Kristi Noem faced a torrent of criticism. Lawmakers from both parties assailed her for lying about the shooting of protestors in Minneapolis and spending millions of dollars on television commercials. Government audits concluded that she "systematically obstructed" investigations and created security risks at airports."

"As DHS secretary, Noem also raised eyebrows for an unprecedented degree of control over staffing and spending at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She paused most FEMA payments, leading to extensive delays for disaster recovery, and sought to slash the agency's on-call workforce by thousands of employees. She also expressed a desire to downsize or eliminate the agency entirely, shifting the burden of disaster relief onto the states."

"A growing number of critics and experts believe that Noem's interference with FEMA may well have been illegal. This week, two Senate Democrats released a report alleging that Noem's blanket freeze on FEMA payments violated federal law. At the same time, lawyers for a federal workers' union argued to a federal judge in California that Noem's workforce cuts also violated the law."

Kristi Noem served as U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary for one year before being fired by President Trump following a contentious congressional hearing where she allegedly misled lawmakers about ad spending approval. During her tenure, she faced bipartisan criticism for false statements about Minneapolis protests, wasteful television advertising, and systematic obstruction of investigations. Government audits revealed she created security risks at airports. Most significantly, Noem exercised unprecedented control over FEMA, pausing most payments to delay disaster recovery, attempting to cut thousands of on-call workers, and expressing intent to downsize or eliminate the agency entirely. Senate Democrats and federal workers' union lawyers argue her actions violated federal law enacted after Hurricane Katrina.

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